KenDS is right about dexcool. I sold GM parts for 30 years and that stuff put food on the table! It'll even corrode the seal off yer radiator cap! If you have a late model GM, when it's cold, go pop the rad cap off and look at the white goo that is destroying you engine! It is usually all collected up around the the cap seal.
FLUSH WELL, and switch back to green! yer rig will last longer! I dont work there any more, so flush those puppies out!
OH, GM does make a nice heater hose fitting in treated steel to replace that crappo one from the factory. problem is, by the time it leaks , it's junk. try and unscrew it! then go buy a 1" pipe thread easy out and enjoy life! if yer lucky, it'll come out.
chances are good, like Ken said, you'll be pulling the intake to get the *(^$^$* thing out.
and so it goes.....any other tricks? On GM SFIs, the first thing to do with drivability is change the fuel filter. Now thats its out of sight and a pain to change, it doesnt happen, resulting in driveability problems. and dont run on an empty tank. the fuel pump relies on fuel to keep cool. they are a bunch of money.

all i have for now. Ken, anything? see yas!

 

I thought I heard they changed Dexcool to be a better product. So far so good in my truck 50K plus. I've had it flushed once.
Do the DS's have a thermostat? And you guys with the Gauges....where are you taking the readings from....

Thanks Shane

 

raptor8,
There is one little trick that I will add to helping the cooling system problems. There is a company that sells a radiator cap with a zinc anode attached to it, I think they call it "Rad Cap". I used to sell them and they work, problem is most people won't pay the price for them. They are more than twice the money than a regular cap and the general public doesn't understand how it works so they pass on it. The marine industry has been using this technology to control electrolysis for more years than we have been alive. Electrolysis is not limited to GMs, all newer vehicles have it and some are worse than others.

03Raptor,
I am not aware of any formula changes in DexCool since it's introduction, but maybe. For me it's "once bitten, twice shy". And yes DS's have a thermostat, mine opens a 175 degrees. As for the reading, I have a digital temp gauge that uses a probe that I have mounted on the thermostat housing, after stat, where the coolant is returning to the radiator.

 

I recently purchased a DS on EBAy it definately has water in the oil. How can i diagnose exactly where its leaking and what to use to flush system out with.

 

laydawg69,
Most likely it is the water pump seals. Do a search on this site, there is alot of info on seal failure/replacement that can help you. As far as flushing, water is fine. A little residual oil in the cooling system won't hurt it.

 

9 times out of ten it will be your waterpump seal. Mine did that once and I right away went and put a new head gasket in it and it wasn't it. Boy was i pissed [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-mad.gif[/img]

 

thanks, that is where i will start. What about flushing out the oil system. Also, this quad is a 2001 limited edition on the right side of the engine lower front at base of jug there is a 3/8" oil line that is about 2" long. It looks like this was a vent but has been rerouted return hose on top of the crank case. should this 2" hose be plugged.

 

laydawg69,
Use engine oil and a new filter to flush the oil. After you have fixed the leaking seals (if that is the prob), put in fresh oil & filter and test ride it. After your done riding change the oil and filter again and you'll be fine.

It sounds like you are describing the crankcase breather line when you refer to the 2" tube. If so, this needs to be routed up the radiator strut, along the top rail of the frame, then to the carb area. At that point you can put a small breather filter on the hose or route it back to the intake snorkel where it came from (under the tank cover). Whatever you do, don't plug it.